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NewsDanny McCance
27 Sep 2018 11:27am

Big Four to publish parental leave policies online

The Big Four have committed to parental leave transparency by agreeing to publish their policies online in support of an imitative from Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson

So far, the Bill on the publication of parental leave and pay policies has gained 47 signatures from MPs across the political spectrum since it was tabled on 12 September.

Anna Purchas, head of people at KPMG, said that Swinson’s campaign brought to light the importance of policies being available for anyone to see.

“This will help people considering roles have all the information they need and I hope it will also encourage other businesses to take this step and open up the conversation around parental leave,” Purchas said.

The firm first put its policy online last month, after Swinson called for support.

“Working parents bring huge value to our workforce and publishing our parental leave policies is another step towards levelling the playing field for all when it comes to recruitment and progression,” said Laura Hinton, chief people officer at PwC, which published its policy online today.

“We hope that more organisations get behind the campaign,” she added.

"“Publishing details of our parental policies will drive greater transparency in the profession and help parents to make the career decisions that are right for them," said Justine Campbell, managing partner for talent at EY, UK & Ireland.

"We want our people to feel supported at work to help them to achieve their personal and professional ambitions," she added.

An EY spokesperson said that the firm was asked to be listed and published the details of its policy online in the summer. Deloitte has also signed up.

“It’s great to see businesses taking proactive steps to publish their parental leave and pay policies, so that people have this information before they apply for a job or go for interview,” said Matthew Fell, chief UK policy director at the Confederation of British Industry.

He noted that companies that made inclusion a key focus were more competitive, showing better engagement and productivity.

The Big Four are among 10 businesses that have agreed to publish parental leave policies, according to the BBC. The full list is as follows: